Published 4:44 pm, Monday, July 17, 2017

HARTFORD-It’s a frequent practice in Bridgeport elections for Democratic party operatives to solicit absentee ballot applications at facilities housing senior citizens and people with disabilities.

But this time they got caught because one woman, Beth Lazar, felt she and two of her friends were being pressured to do so.

“I got very upset,” Lazar said Monday of the August, 2013 actions.

Although Lazar did not agree to an application two of her friends did and complaints were filed in their behalf.

Last month the State Election Enforcement Commission following a four-year investigation reached a consent agreement with an individual who was being paid to obtain absentee ballot applications and the Democratic Town Committee who illegally paid her for doing so.

As a result Sheyla Rivera agreed to never solicit absentee ballot applications without signing her name, address and phone number as an assistant on those forms. That’s something required by law. And the Democratic Town Committee agreed to forfeit $2,680 which they paid Rivera.

“I think they took a pretty strong stance,” said Lazar, 60, who always votes at a polling place. “Most of the people in this building are senior citizens or disabled. One night it seemed that a group of teenagers descended on our building, knocking on doors asking residents to apply for absentee ballots...They kept pressuring us to do it.”

Lazar said the solicitors were telling people to sign and date the application and give their reason for voting by absentee ballot. The solicitors offered to take care of the rest.

“I got people to file a complaint,” she said.

The investigation determined Rivera took applications from Deolina Ruas and Eileen Adintori. However it also determined that was she not hiding the fact she obtained those applications but she did not complete the applications. That fell to other people who could not be identified.

Records obtained by investigators show Rivera was employed by the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee from Aug. 16, 2013 to November 14, 2013 at a salary of $10 an hour. Although she was paid by Maria Heller, then the Democratic Town Committee treasurer, Rivera reported to Emily Basham. Basham was the campaign manager for Kathryn Bukovsky, Simon Castillo, and Brandon Clark, the Town committee endorsed candidates in what was a hotly contested race against petition and Working Family Party candidates. None of the endorsed candidates were elected.

Lazar described Rivera as a young woman at the time. “I don’t think she should have been penalized.”

The SEEC found that Heller should have know that Rivera’s sole duty was to take out absentee ballot applications and distribute them. As part of the consent order, she agreed that this would not happen in the future.

Neither Heller or Rivera could be reached for comment. Attempts to contact Mario Testo, the Democratic Town Chairman, were unsuccessful.

“I think in this case justice was done,” said Mike Garrett, Bridgeport’s Republican Town chairman. “I don’t see it as a problem. She (Rivera) did not influence how people voted.”

But as whether this sends a message to Democratic Town Committee, Garrett said “we’ll see. There’s been a regular rogues gallery of individuals who have run afoul (of SEEC regulations) in the past.”

This marked the third case in which the SEEC has addressed a similar issue. the other two, which took place in New Britain, resulted in $100 penalties.

“I think the SEEC took a pretty strong stance,” said Kim McLaughlin, who assisted Lazar and her friends in filing the complaint. “Their ruling basically tells the Democratic Town Committee they can’t be running their absentee ballot operations the way they have been.”

But McLaughlin said that will be the case only if other people complain when they see illegalities taking place.

“The key to stopping this abuse is having courageous people like Beth and her friends come forward,” McLaughlin said. “These aren’t people of means who stood up and testified. It took a lot of courage on their part.”